Deal
by LifesDarkFire
Summary: One day, sitting on a park bench, Henry makes a deal with Mr. Gold. A deal that may lead Gold one step closer to fixing the chip in his heart. Prequel to "Of Heroes and Fools".


**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, I'm just playing pretend with them for just a little while.

**A/N:**This is my first story for Once Upon A Time, so I'm very nervous and excited about how it will be recieved. I, like many others, fell in love with Belle and Rumpelstiltskin's story and eventually this story idea tripped, tumbled and stumbled into my lap.

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><p><em> Deal <em>

He hadn't planned on talking to the boy that day, no, it was completely unplanned. A cheap thrill just to make Regina's skin crawl to see him so close to Henry, it would be an added bonus if Sheriff Swann happened upon them. Between the two he didn't know which woman disliked him more. Gold pondered this question as he sat down on the park bench only a few inches away from Henry who was thoroughly enjoying his vanilla ice cream cone. Gold settled into his seat, stretching out his legs as his hand unconsciously began to rub his knee when Henry suddenly turned to him and asked, "What's your name?"

Gold raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in Henry's direction, "What do you mean? I'm Mr. Gold."

Henry nodded impatiently, "I know that, I want to know what your first name is."

"I don't see why a boy like you needs to know that." Gold flashed Henry a fake smile, "You're welcome to guess."

"Will you tell me if I guess right?" Henry asked, his lips settling into a firm line as he shifted slightly closer to Gold on the park bench, the edge of his backpack digging slightly into Gold's thigh.

Gold shrugged, "Perhaps." He tilted his head to the side, "If I get something in return."

"So, you want a deal."

"My, my, what a smart boy you are." Gold's hand reflexively clenched around his cane, "You could call it a deal. But, what could you possibly have for me?"

"Let me guess first." Henry got up from the bench and stood before Gold so that they were eye level, "If you don't like what I have for you I can owe you a favor."

"A favor," Gold sighed, his lips turning up at the edges as his hand slowly relaxed its hold on his cane. "Alright, give it your best shot."

Henry nodded, glanced down at the ice cream cone in his hand and then back at Gold. "Here," he held out the cone to Gold, "Hold this for a minute."

Gold eyed the cone with disgust but grudgingly took it from the boy; a favor was priceless compared to a soggy ice cream cone. He leaned back against the hard backing of the park bench and watched as Henry clenched his fists closed his eyes tightly and blurted out the first name that came to his mind.

"Albert."

Gold let out a cold laugh, "Do I look like an Albert to you?" He waved his cane at Henry, "Alright you have two more guesses to go."

"Hey!" Henry protested, "We didn't set a limit on the guesses."

"No, we didn't," Gold smiled, "but I only give people I like three chances. You've wasted your first chance, use you're other two wisely."

"Your name must be Charles then." Henry sighed in disappointment as Gold shook his head, and waved his cane again mouthing last chance.

This time Henry sat back down on the bench, slid his backpack off of it and slowly inched closer to Gold until they were only a few inches away from each other. "I know your name." Henry declared, lifting his chin high to meet Gold's gaze.

"And what, pray tell, is it?"

"Rumpelstiltskin." Henry whispered.

Gold involuntarily flinched away; his hand gripped his cane so hard that the flesh upon his knuckles grew white. He forced out a fake chuckle, "And I spin straw into gold in my free time I suppose?"

Henry shrugged, "The book says you do."

"Book?" Gold breathed between clenched teeth.

"The book with all of the fairy tales in it," Henry stated reaching towards Gold for his ice cream cone.

"Ah," Gold pulled the cone out of Henry's reach, "Where did you get this book?."

"Ms. Blanchard gave it to me." Henry shrugged. "Can I have my ice cream back now?"

"Of course," Gold murmured, shoving the cone into the boy's outreached hand.

Henry took a large bite, "So did I guess right?"

Gold flashed another fake smile at Henry, "I suppose I'm rather like Rumpelstiltskin, but I can assure you Henry the book is just a book. Nothing more," He paused, his eyes landing on Regina who was walking quickly towards them and winked at Henry, "nothing less."

Henry who had turned his head to see what had made Gold pause, furrowed his brows in thought, at what information Gold had given him and what information he should give Gold in return. Regina's quick approach left Henry no choice. "She's still alive." He blurted out, watching Gold's reaction carefully.

Gold, who had begun to stand up, sat down on the bench again-hard, his cane fell from his hand, the gold tip making a dull clang as it hit concrete. Closing his eyes, swallowing against his tightening throat he whispered, "What do you mean?"

"Belle," Henry whispered urgently, tossing a glance over his shoulder at Regina who was slowly closing the gap between them. "The queen lied, she didn't kill herself, and she never even went back to her father's kingdom. The queen was waiting for her in the forest and kidnapped her. She locked her up in her dungeons. She was alive in your world, so she's alive in this one."

Gold, who was staring dumbly at his cane lying on the cement, licked his lips nervously, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Henry sighed, "there's always one person who brings out the good in another. Belle was that person to you, and we need you on our side. If Emma's going to break this curse she needs all the help she can get."

"Who says I'm going to be on your side?" Gold grinned.

"She would want you to be on the side of good, and after what the queen did to her, don't you want revenge?" Henry shrugged, and glanced back over his shoulder again. Regina was only ten feet away from them, her mouth downturned in a vicious scowl as she slowly clenched and unclenched her fists.

"I don't suppose your book can tell me where she is then?"

Henry shook his head, "No, but I'd try the first thing that reminds me of a prison or dungeon."

"School?" Gold replied, his lips curling into a smile as Henry shook his head.

"The hospital." He whispered just as Regina came upon them, her hand closing in on the back of Henry's neck in an attempt at a motherly gesture.

"Henry," her lips stretched thin in a smile, "why are you talking to Mr. Gold?"

"I," Henry faltered, his eyes glued to the ice cream cone that was slowly dripping down his hand. "I…"

"It was my fault," Gold supplied, picking up his cane from where it had fallen and slowly lumbering up from his sitting position. "Henry and I were just comparing fairy tales that's all."

"I see," Regina's smile tightened, "I would hope, Mr. Gold, that you would keep from filling my son's head with foolish fairy tales. I think Henry's much too old for such tales now, it might hinder his perception of the real world."

"But," Gold held up a finger and wagged it in front of Regina's face, "who's to say what's real and what's not?"

"I am." Regina stated. "I'm Henry's mother after all." She punctuated her sentence by picking Henry's backpack up and placing it in his arms. "It's time to go Henry, its getting dark."

Gold watched in silence as Henry got up and slowly shrugged on his backpack, as Regina strode quickly over to the trash can where she deposited the half melted ice cream cone. She crossed her arms, glanced at Henry and smiled, "Ready to go now?"

Henry nodded dutifully and was about to turn away when Gold called out, "Oh, and Henry? Things are never what they seem."

Regina turned suddenly, piercing Gold with her gaze as he smiled back at her, waving his free hand before him, "Just a life lesson everyone should know dearie."

His smile fell away as Regina turned back around and tugged at Henry's backpack, urging him to walk faster. "A life lesson I just learned it seems." He whispered to the air around him. Sighing Gold turned on his heel and slowly began the trek back to his shop, he had to look at his records. Surely there was someone in Storybrooke who owed him a favor, someone who worked at the hospital, someone who knew every nook and secret cranny.

**The End **

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><p><strong>AN: **In the series, I doubt that Henry would be so bold as to confront Mr. Gold as he did, but that's why this is fanfiction. I'm sorry if anyone seems out of character, I'm still getting used to writing them out and it's trickier than it seems. I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review, it helps me improve and just makes me happy.


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